Huskers in Seventh at "Give 'Em Five"

Las Cruces, N.M. - The Nebraska women's golf team fired two solid rounds to sit in seventh place at the 18-team Price's "Give 'Em Five" Intercollegiate at the New Mexico State University Golf Course on Monday.

The Huskers opened the tournament with a season-low 302 (14-over-par) in the first round on the par-72, 6,319-yard layout.  Nebraska sat in fifth place after the first round, just six strokes off the pace established by first-round leader New Mexico State.

In the second round, NU played solid golf again to produce a 309, but slipped two spots in the standings.  Texas Tech took over the team lead by shooting a sizzling 294 in the second round to finish the day at 592, two strokes ahead of Arizona State at 594.  Baylor sits in third at 597 after 36 holes, while the hosts from New Mexico State slid to fourth place with a 603. Kansas State (608) and UTEP (609) also sit within striking distance of the Huskers on the leaderboard heading into Tuesday's final round.

Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said the Huskers' play was encouraging after the first day of the tournament.

"We have definitely made big strides in our competitiveness," Krapfl said.  "I clearly saw improvement in our team's performance today, compared with the way we played last week, and I was encouraged by what we did out on the course today.  Hopefully we can play even better tomorrow."

Merynn Ito and Chelsea Gehring led the Huskers individually.  Ito, a senior from Aiea, Hawaii, shot a season-low 73 in the opening round, before adding a 79 in the second round to close the day with an 8-over-par 152.  Gehring, a junior from Aberdeen, S.D., shot a pair of 76s to sit in a tie with Ito for 23rd place overall in the tournament.

Redshirt freshman Allison Stewart also played well for the Huskers.  The Vermillion, S.D., native carded rounds of 78 and 75 to sit one stroke back of Ito and Gehring with a 9-over-par 153 in a tie for 28th.  Sophomore Chrissie McArdle added rounds of 75 and 79 to managed a 10-over-par 154 and a tie for 37th.

Junior Jackie Beste managed rounds of 79 and 80 on the day to finish at 15-over-par with a 159 in a tie for 58th place.

The Huskers will conclude the 54-hole tournament on Tuesday with the final round, which is set to begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. central time.

Price's "Give 'Em Five" Intercollegiate
1. Texas Tech (298-294-592)
2. Arizona State (297-297-594)
3. Baylor (298-299-597)
4. New Mexico State (296-307-603)
5. Kansas State (303-305-608)
6. UTEP (303-306-609)
7. Nebraska (302-309-611)
8. TCU (317-295-612)
9. Arkansas--Little Rock (310-307-617)
    Kansas (310-307-617)
11. Denver (311-311-622)
12. San Diego State (314-313-627)
13. North Texas (313-315-628)
14. Northern Arizona (315-316-631)
15. Hawaii (308-330-638)
16. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (326-326-652)
17. Western New Mexico (326-334-660)
18. North Dakota State (340-341-681)

Top Five Individuals
1. Kim Kolb, Texas Tech (73-69-142)
2. Valerie Tan, Texas Tech (73-71-144)
3. Louise Stahle, Arizona State (71-74-145)
4. Josefin Svenningsson, Baylor (73-73-146)
    Dale Gammie, Hawaii (72-74-146)
    Hazel Tan, Texas Tech (71-75-146)

Nebraska Individuals
T23. Merynn Ito (73-79-152)
T23. Chelsea Gehring (76-76-152)
T28. Allison Stewart (78-75-153)
T37. Chrissie McArdle (75-79-154)
T58. Jackie Beste (79-80-159)